A vintage snapshot

Artistic Dulwich is the London of yesteryear

Soaring success at The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House
Soaring success at The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House.

Photograph by: Lucy Hyslop

To catch a glimpse of what London was like long before nearly eight million people made the English capital their home, I’m heading a little way south to Dulwich. From the wide boulevard of its main street, the quixotically named Dulwich Village, to the 17th-century Christ’s Chapel and its embarrassment of woodcarvings, the historic enclave feels like a sepia snapshot. Crests emblazoned on ancient wrought-iron gates and almshouses proclaim the generosity of its original 17th-century benefactor, the Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, and the roads are upholstered with bold, handsome four-storey stone homes.

For most, London evokes the image of hardcore traffic; Dulwich (pronounced Dullich; forget the “w”) contrastingly has an eerie dearth of cars today and even an incongruous pound-either-way tollgate slowing down the few vehicles venturing into parts of the “village.” Cyclists pass me by, braving the unseasonal spring cold snap to stop for fresh-off-the-rack cob loaves, and art aficionados gravitate to the manicured lawns of the 200-year-old Dulwich Picture Gallery, the nation’s first institution built solely for the general public.

However, what’s making the south London borough especially notable for Canadians today is a veritable love-in the latter is having with its new-country cousins.

“So what’s going on with all this Canada stuff?” a florist pipes up, when I mention I’m writing for The Vancouver Sun. He tells me he served someone from Calgary only yesterday, and another person from the East Coast popped in recently.

All “this Canada stuff” emanates from last year’s acclaimed show at the picture gallery, Painting Canada: Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven, which turned out to be the fourth most popular since the institution’s opening in 1811 with record crowds lining up around the block. Now the striking parade of rooms are not only in the midst of hosting an exhibition by its Canadian artist-in-residence, British Columbia expat Liz Charsley-Jory, but bracing itself for what looks set to be the largest overseas’ exhibition for the queen of the province’s art scene herself: Emily Carr.

“I was like, oh wow, this is fantastic,” the former University of Victoria fine-art and theatre graduate recalls of her reaction to Carr’s major show being scheduled for the fall of 2014. “The gates have really been opened with dialogue with galleries in Canada.” (Indeed, between 20 and 40 Carr pieces are set to be temporarily exported from the Vancouver Art Gallery for the show.)

After moving here a couple of decades ago, first as a props maker working on shows such as Cats and Miss Saigon before segueing into art, Charsley-Jory has spent the past year teaching three- to 90-year-olds about drawing with notable nods to the Canadian landscape and the Group of Seven.

Charsley-Jory’s frequently verdant oil pastels also provide, however, a delicious antidote to the greyer London life: from images of Hornby Island (where she still vacations) and China Beach on the Juan de Fuca Trail on Vancouver Island to salmon (based on a photo by photographer Thomas Peschak), they’re enough to make any Canuck homesick. “Returning to the West Coast every year is that breath of fresh air that we all crave,” she adds. “If we didn’t do that, we would go mental.”

It’s not all Canada all of the time here. Designed by acclaimed Regency architect Sir John Soane, the smart gallery is permanently home to baroque paintings, British portrait heavyweights, including Thomas Gainsborough, stretching from the Tudor period to the 19th century, and Old Masters such as Anthony Van Dyck.

Within its labyrinthine glass corridor is also a connecting door to Christ’s Chapel of God’s Gift at Dulwich. I feel a little tingle when I realize I’m half standing on Alleyn’s well-worn burial plaque (he gave to the area as thanks to God for his acting talents, his legacy now being run by The Dulwich Estate). Then suddenly a menagerie of strange creatures carved into the ancient pews, pulpit and screens hits me. I’m long distracted spotting these myriad gargoyles, lions, griffins et al dotted all over the chapel, before seeing the equally mesmerizing vibrant stained glass including the red and white of St. George.

Returning outside, what marks out Dulwich as a more rarefied London borough is the amount of outdoor space in which it luxuriates. It may be bounded by such populous boroughs as Brixton, Peckham and Camberwell, but there are still constant reminders that this storied spot used to belong to Surrey, one of the Home Counties encircling London. (Immortalizing the village’s erstwhile isolation, to continue an artistic line albeit in another collection in London, the Strand’s Courtauld Gallery (see sidebar), is Camille Pissarro’s famed Lordship Lane Station, Dulwich, 1871.) Today, the picture gallery is sandwiched by the 72-acre Dulwich Park and the expansive grounds of the private school, Dulwich College, another of Alleyn’s gifts.

There’s little doubting Dulwich Village is what the Brits call a well-heeled “des res,” an uber-expensive desirable residence: Even former prime minister Margaret Thatcher’s a local. All of which translates, obviously — much to the chagrin of older, longtime residents who lament the loss of butchers and greengrocers — to an area plump with estate agents (or realtors).

As well as swanky eateries, they could have added, which is great news, of course, for us tourists. I take my pick among spots for coffee and food all served with a dose of history. Unsurprisingly, knowing its gallery neighbours, there’s a decent art shop, too: Just in case this artistic London compels you to pick up a paintbrush.

Bright Land: West of the Rockies, South of the Thames, by Liz Charsley-Jory, runs to May 19 at Dulwich Picture Gallery (dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk).

It’s less than 15 minutes from London Bridge (to North Dulwich) or Victoria overground stations (to West Dulwich). For times, check out nationalrail.co.uk. Lucy Hyslop travelled by Virgin Atlantic, which starts flights from Vancouver to London from May 12 (virgin-atlantic.com).

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.